Why Quit Smoking?

The real costs of smoking are not just the health risks, but also the financial burden and social stigma that smokers face. Kids may not be persuaded by arguments based on health risks later in life, but the impact of smoking on their somewhat limited finances or blossoming social life may be more convincing.

Parents are the first line of defense to keep kids from smoking.

First and foremost, if you are still a smoker, don’t expect teaching your kids about the cost of smoking will be a no-brainer task. No matter what you tell them, as long as they can see the contradiction between what you do and what you say, your attempts to persuade them may remain futile.

This doesn’t mean, however, that you can never have the chance to prevent your kids from smoking if you are still in the process of battling the habit yourself. Not smoking at home or in front of the kids is a good start.

Let the kids know what smoking cost your family. Have them total up the cost of a pack a cigarettes a day would cost for a day, week, month or year. Let them suggest how that money could be spent to improve your family life.

You know how they love playing video games. You might as well use that knowledge to explain to them that saving the equivalent of the cost of a daily pack of cigarettes, can buy you a brand new Xbox in less than a year.

Talk to your child about the dangers of smoking as early as possible. Many children started the habit at the age of 11. Teaching kids not to smoke at an early age can be done. Most people say that they are too young to get exposed to such matters when in fact, they already are. Smoking is glamorized everywhere. Children see it on TV, movies, billboards and the internet.

To kids, it may seem that smoking is cool and that it would create a good self-image. Immediately curtailing these wrong notions by engaging in an serious conversation with your children can prevent them from even trying a single puff. Tell them how useless it is to try smoking. Explain to them that what they have seen on TV doesn’t always work for everyone.

Lecturing them won’t do any good. Ask them what they think about smoking and start from there. More than anyone else, you know your children best.

Positive reinforcement is proven to work better with children especially when they are about to reach the puberty age. Try to teach them about the social costs of smoking too. Older kids want to be like and attractive, but smoking is definitely an unattractive habit.

Reminding them about the health risks of smoking may also curb their curiosity. Try to tell them everything that they need to know about the habit, so that they won’t need to find answers to their questions elsewhere.